We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alana Almonte a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alana , thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
While my mission has “changed” throughout the years, there has always been a common denominator- healing. When I originally started my business, I started off with a “smaller” mission than what I was actually capable of. I wanted to share my art and energy healings with people who appreciated what I did. I told myself I had “two sides” to my business and I wanted to create art that was unique and provide energy healings via Reiki and IET, I would give intuitive guidance via Tarot, and I would provide art workshops for others so they could have “fun” with me.
Fast forward 2 years and my mission was to not only provide energy therapy, but to intentionally provide the healing, peace and positivity through my artwork (which is always infused with reiki). The readings and workshops were still a great addition to this mission.
One year later, I found that my mission was to have a “healing art gallery” where I could not only provide energy therapy, but it would also be a place where people could go to be in the healing of the art, to observe and be nurtured, and to be at peace in this space. A safe haven, if you will. In this space they would also be able to participate in art workshops where they would feel calm, grounded and release stress.
I have found that what comes through in my art is more than a “unique and creative” idea. It has proven itself to be so impactful, profound and nurturing to not only the customers, but even to those who glance and connect with it, even for a moment. The workshops found a reputation for being relaxing, joyful and held deep meaning and purpose.
5 years later, enough time has passed where I haven been able to consistently witness the impact of each part of my business, and I have been able to recognize that they are more powerful when they come together as a unit, and are all treated equally. My mission continues on the path of healing. My creations, treatments, workshops and readings work together cohesively through co-creation, inspiration and synchronization, leaving a larger impact in the realm of healing than I could have ever imagined!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Alana Almonte, owner of Anchored Soul. I am an intuitive artist, a reiki master/teacher and integrated energy therapy practitioner. I was introduced to this industry when I was practicing as a dental hygienist and a co-worker of mine gave me a reiki treatment, In my sessions with her, we rediscovered my NEED and love for art- which had been a gift of mine from a very young age, but never taken “seriously” out of fear or lack of confidence. Luckily, Reiki and the metaphysical world lead me to where I am today!
After 10 years of dental hygiene, I became an owner of an art gallery in the Pawtuxet Village in Cranston, RI! Within this space I create the art that I exhibit, I see clients, I host a variety of art workshops and do intuitive tarot card readings. My artwork is a combination of acrylic painting and mixed media through the use of natural elements. These natural elements typically include handpicked shells, rocks, driftwood, seaglass and/or healing crystals. I also enjoy creating sculpture art from locally foraged shells and pieces of driftwood. All of my creations are infused with reiki energy and emits intentional healing vibrations! I am a self-taught artist, and find that my passion lies in creating nautical and spiritual pieces that hold deep meaning and purpose. In the last 5 years of owning my own business, I have been vending at art shows/festivals all over RI, selling my artwork in various local shops/galleries, hosting workshops and collaborating with other RI businesses to curate artistic and holistic events.
My customers and clients tend to come to me when they’re looking to be in a “zen” space, if they want to purchase, participate in or receive something with love, deep purpose and positive intent. I also find they come to me when they want to personally feel uplifted, connected and/or healed (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually). This could be through the means of visiting the gallery, owning artwork, creating in a workshop, receiving a reiki treatment, etc.
I am most proud of being “anchored” to who I am so I can create, heal and utilize my intuition in profound ways that positively impacts the Whole. Being a firm believer in the law of attraction, I trust the power of thoughts and intentions, and know how impactful it is to shine as a positive light in this world! I always lead with optimism and gratitude so that I can be that kind of light for others. I may have many parts to my business, but they all share one thing in common: healing. This will always be at the forefront of my mission (in all areas), and I am on a quest to help spread this light in monumental ways, rather than one at a time!
Through the years, I have felt an intense and high demand for more from me. More positivity, more art, more healings, more co-creation… more, more, more. My answer to this has been to of course utilize social media as a way to reach more people, but that’s not all. I’ve had prints of my artwork made for more people to be able to embrace the healings of a single creation. I have recently started offering group reiki sessions so I can see more people, more frequently (in a very powerful setting), and sooner rather than later! And now, I am about to launch a 12 week virtual healing art workshop/program that will be accessible, globally! I am very excited and blessed to continue my Anchored Soul journey, and to leave a positive impact on many along the way! I hope to cross paths with you someday, too!
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
It all happened in increments, some with patience and blind faith, and other times with undeniable support from the universe! Growing up I knew I wanted to be an artist, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it other than draw, paint and create dioramas! When graduating high school, I did not have the means to explore it by going to art school, so I did what was “easy” and went to a community college where I could get a degree in dental hygiene in under 3 years. Long story short, art came back into my life after 7 years of being a RDH and I started my “hobby” by creating art for friends and family. They gave me the confidence to pop up at an art festival in attempt to sell something! And so I did. I sold a lot, and continued to! From there, I popped up at more shows and sold through other local shops! I said yes to almost any opportunity that came my way. I realized that an online presence can only get you so far when you’re selling something that comes from your heart! Aside from the art, I also became certified in reiki (reiki is the reason why art was brought back into my life- anther story for another time!), and I would treat clients at night (after a 10 hour day of dental hygiene, and after the kids were put to bed!). In the meantime, I was offering art workshops at a few local shops, while taking classes to learn how to read tarot!
With that being said, I dreamed to one day have an art gallery of my own, where I would also treat clients, and provide workshops, etc. I thought it was going to be at least 5 years before I would have the means to do so… then COVID hit. Luckily, I was blessed by this devastating experience, and had I not been able to be home to solely focus on Anchored Soul, I would have continued to do what I was doing (getting the work done at night and on the weekends). And yes, I have 2 children and at that time they were 3 and 5- very challenging! I found that during the pandemic I could have put everything on pause, but instead, it was pedal to the metal! I found ways to get creative and hosted art workshops and art shows in my garage. One side had tables for the workshop and the other had a 10×10 tent popped up to showcase my artwork in an “art show” fashion! Many of my reiki clients were distance healing sessions (after the kids went to bed), so I was still able to keep many of my clients.
After 4 months of the pandemic, and 10 years working as a dental hygienist, I eventually lost my dental hygiene job as I was not able to return to work since my children were not back in childcare/school. My husband was also working from home, and did not have a “back up plan” like I did. A true blessing in disguise! I continued to sell my artwork, and keep a presence- with the help of social media and my garage! I found myself wanting to expand my reiki clientele, but did not want “strangers” in my home- so, in October of 2020 I found a small 10×10 ft room available to rent within a holistic healing space. Within this space I utilized the walls as an art exhibit- making it multi-functional space for people to view/purchase artwork by appointment. 6 months later, I found I needed a bigger space and with my new list of reiki clients, I could potentially support myself in a 700 sq ft space- now called Anchored Soul in the Historical Pawtuxet Village in Cranston, RI! This was a true leap of faith as I have ZERO experience running/owning a business!
It has now been 2 years of owning my own healing art gallery and my biggest takeaway is to lead with your heart. If it is truly your passion and you’re in it for the right reasons, it will ALWAYS work out. Trusting the process and learning from the hiccups along the way are essential for growth and advancement My situation played out rather “nicely”, but it didn’t come without compromise, resilience, trust, tears, anxiety, stress and being brutally honest with myself. It also didn’t always come with having support from those I thought I could count on, either. I realized that only I had the power to create my own reality. So when I thought of what the perfect scenario would be for me, and my family, that’s what I went for- I took the steps and acted on the things that I thought might help me get to where I am today, and it worked! I couldn’t afford to worry about the “what if’s”, or what people thought- I had a vision, a family to support and a life’s purpose mission to accomplish! There was no stopping me… and that story continues!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I built my audience on social media by simply coming from an authentic, real space. I always go back to “the law of attraction”. We simply attract what we put out. I decided that I would put out content that spoke to me and resonated with me. I then created art that spoke to me, which then connected to my audience. Someone from the audience would share it, and so the sharing continued. I may not have 10,000 followers, but the followers that I do have are the ones that will grow with me, and help me continue to grow! My audience at this point is around 2K and I am more than OK with that! quality of quantity in my mind. I did find that having both Instagram and Facebook felt redundant, but they go hand-in-hand at times and reach different crowds. The same goes for other platforms, but I know my limits with reserving time for social media. Instead of spreading myself too thin and not having a solid and consistent presence in any of the areas, I choose to hyper focus on a smaller area, This seems to be working in my favor! Should I get help with social media postings, I would most certainly find my way to the other platforms- they all hold their own value and potentially offer a different crowd to reach! You never know!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.anchoredsoulri.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anchoredsoul_art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnchoredSoulArt/